Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said that the government has made serious attempts to address the rising expectations of people with regard to governance and public services and is committed to provide security of education, nutrition and health to every Indian.
Addressing the tenth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in Jaipur, Singh also expressed confidence that some of the legislations on the agenda of the government will bring similar impacts like RTI did in bringing transparency in governance.
"We have attempted sincerely to address the rising expectations of our people with regard to governance and delivery of public services. The Right to Information Act has proved to be a powerful instrument of bringing in transparency in governance.
"I am confident that some of the other legislations on these issues, which are now on the national agenda, will make a similar impact in the years ahead," Singh said.
The prime minister said since the Indian civilisation and society have always been inclusive in character, it is only natural that our political and economic processes have also to be "inclusive" in their orientation and in their outcome.
He said that the Indian democracy has deepened and gained in strength and vitality as more and more people from the disadvantaged sections of our society have secured their rightful place in our economic and political processes over the past years.
"We wish to unleash the vast human potential of the many millions, who for one reason or another, have been on margins of our society in the past. Our government is committed to doing so by providing security of education, nutrition and health to every Indian so that he or she is empowered to live a life of dignity and well being," he said.
The prime minister also hailed Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the first woman Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, who was present on the occasion.
"The "global Indian" is a symbol of this diversity of our ancient land. Your individual prosperity and personal achievement are a symbol of what a diverse people like us can achieve," he said.
Highlighting the issues of safety of Indians overseas, the prime minister said that there are over six million Indians living in the Gulf and West Asia and there is a need to be alert to the unfolding developments in this part of the world.
"We have conveyed to the countries of the region that we have a stake in the peace and stability of this region, and that we expect that they would appropriately look after the interests of Indian communities in their countries," Singh said.
Recalling that operations to evacuate the overseas Indians from Libya, Egypt and Yemen were carried out by the government earlier, the prime minister assured, "we stand ready to extend such help elsewhere should the need arise."
He also told the NRIs that the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has prepared an Action Plan to implement the recommendations an inter-Ministerial Committee constituted by the government on issues relating to repatriation, relief and rehabilitation of Indian nationals affected by recent developments in West Asia.
Listing the steps taken by the government for the welfare of overseas Indians, the prime minister referred to e-migrate project saying it will provide end-to-end computerised solutions for all processes in the emigration system by linking all key stakeholders on a common platform.
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